Control apparatus



Oct. 18, 1966 W. J. OLSON 3,27%,262 CONTROL APPARATUS Filed Jan. 13, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l FiG-l ENVENTOR WALTER J. OLSON TORNEY Oct. 18, 1966 w. J. OLSON CONTROL APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 13, 1965 llll INVENTOR WALTER J. OL SON 9 4% K" L- 417 c ATT QKIEY United States Patent 3,279,262 CONTROL APPARATUS Walter J. Olson, Bloomfield, N.J., assignor to Specialties Development Corporation, Belleville, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Jan. 13, 1965, Ser. No. 425,189 Claims. (Cl. 74-2) The present invention relates to control apparatus and, more particularly, to improved control apparatus capable of manual and/or condition responsive operation from a local or a remote location for opening a valve of a system for releasing a fire extinguishing or inflation medium or the like.

The control apparatus in accordance with the present invention, although capable of many other uses, is adapted for use in connection with a fire extinguishing system installed in a hood and ventilating duct arrangement for the range or other cooking apparatus of a restaurant kitchen. Such a system should be operable manually instantly by persons attending the range and should be operable automatically in response to a fire when the range in unattended.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide improved control apparatus of the foregoing character.

Another object is to provide such apparatus which can be conveniently located both for automatic response and manual operation.

Another object is to provide such apparatus which includes a control housing adapted for direct connection on the valve of a receptacle containing fluid medium under pressure.

Another object is to provide such apparatus which is reliable in operation.

A further object is to provide such apparatus which is simple and economical in construction and can be readily installed.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of control apparatus capable of local manual and automatic operation.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are fragmentary longitudinal sectional views illustrating, when viewed together, control apparatus capable of local manual and remote automatic operation.

Referring now in detail to FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is shown control apparatus for a carbon dioxide cylinder valve assembly such as disclosed in US. Patent No. 2,326,138, August 10, 1943, the valve and the cylinder being illustrated in detail in FIG. 3 of US. Patent 2,383,961, Sept. 4, 1945. This control apparatus generally comprises a body or housing 10, a cam 11 for actuating a cam follower pin 12 associated with the valve assembly, a handle 14 for manually operating the cam 11, a spring 15 arranged for automatically operating the cam, and an arrangement 16 for retaining the spring biased or loaded including a link 17 for releasing the spring.

The body 10 is tubular and has apertured caps 18 and 19 at its ends and a depending boss 20 formed with a bore for reception of the cam follower pin 12.

The cam 11 is slidably mounted in the bore provided in the tubular body; and includes a conical cam section 21 converging from left to right, a cylindrical section 22 corresponding in diameter to that of the righthand end of the cam section 21, a stem section 24 extending out- 3,279,262 Patented Oct. 18, 1966 "ice wardly of the aperture of the cap 18, and a flange section 25 at the inner end of the stem section 24 for preventing the cam from being separated from the body.

The pin 12 is urged upwardly against the cylindrical section 22 of the cam 11 when the cam is in its non-operating position as shown. When the cam is moved from left to right, the cam section 21 drives the pin downward to cause the same to actuate a valve (not shown).

The handle 14 is formed with an apertured boss 26 through which the stem section 24 of the cam extends to slidably mount the handle on stem section. The handle is retained on the stem section by a washer 27 and a screw 28 threaded into the free end of the stem section to enable the handle to be pulled outwardly to operate the cam but to prevent unintentional inward movement of the cam so that the link 17 of the retaining arrangement 16 for the spring 15 cannot be disrupted.

The spring 15 is positioned in the bore of the body 10 with its outer end engaging the end cap 19.

The spring retaining arrangement 16 further includes a rod or plunger 29 having a head 30 at its inner end engaging the inner end of the spring and contacting the lefthand end of the cam 11, the outer end of the rod extending outwardly through the aperture of the cap 19, and a rod 31 having one end fixed on the body 10 and having its other end bent downwardly and extending outwardly beyond the outer end of the rod 29.

The link 17 has one end connected to a projection 32 on the outer end of the rod 29 and has its other end connected to a fixed projection 33 on the bent outer end of the rod 31, whereby the link holds the rod or plunger 29 in a retracted position to compress and load the spring and to retain the spring in such condition. When the link 17 is destroyed by a condition to which it responds, for example the heat of a fire, the rod 29 is released and the spring 15 drives the head 30 towards the right together with the cam 11, whereupon the cam is operated to actuate the pin 12.

When the cam is operated by use of the handle 14, the retaining arrangement 16 is not disturbed.

Referring now in detail FIGS. 2A and 2B of the drawings, there is shown control apparatus which in principle is like the apparatus shown in and described in connection with FIG. 1 except that a manually operable handle is pushed to effect local operation of the cam and that a spring is released at a remote location to pull a cable which operates the cam.

This control apparatus generally comprises a body or housing 10A, a cam 11 in the housing 111A for actuating a cam follower pin 12 of the valve previously referred to, a handle 14 for manually operating the cam 11, an element 35 connected to a cable 36 for pulling the cam, a spring 15 arranged in a body 10B for automatically pulling the cable, and an arrangement 16 associated with the body 1GB for retaining the spring biased or loaded including a link 17 for releasing the spring.

The body 10A is tubular; and has an apertured cap 18 at one end, a coupling 37 at its other end, and a depending boss 20 for the pin 12.

The cam 11 is slidably mounted in the bore provided in the tubular body 10A; and includes a conical cam section 21 converging from right to left, a cylindrical section 22 corresponding in diameter to that of the lefthand end of the cam section 21, a central bore 38 extending from end to end for the reception of the cable, and a tube 39 secured to the inner end of the cam and slidably disposed in the coupling 37. I

The pin 12 is urged upwardly against the cylindrical section 22 of the cam when the cam 11 is in its non-operating position as shown. When the cam is moved from right to left, the cam section 21 drives the pin downward to cause the same to actuate a valve (not shown).

The handle 14 is formed with an apertured boss 26, and a tubular stem section 40 has one end secured in the boss 26 and has its other end slidably disposed in the bore of the body A and in engagement with the right hand end of the cam 11, whereby when the handle 14 is pushed inwardly the cam is operated. In order to prevent separation of the handle and its stem section 40 from the body 10A, the inner end of the stern section is formed with a flange 41 adapted to engage a shoulder 42 provided by the annular end wall of the cap 18. Unintentional inward movement of the handle is prevented by a locking pin 44 which passes through diametrically opposite Openings 45 in the stem section and bears against the outer end wall of the cap 18.

The element 35 is cylindrical, and is slidably disposed in the inner end of the stem section 40 and bears against the righthand end of the cam 11, whereby this element can operate the cam independently of the handle 14 as described hereinafter. The element 35 has a central bore 46 in which the righthand end of the cable 36 is disposed, and has set screws 47 threadedly secured therein for clamping the cable.

The body 10B is tubular; and has a coupling 50 at one end and an apertured cap 19 at its other end. The couplings 37 and 50 have an outwardly facing bore for connecting opposite ends of a pipe or tube 51 serving as a sheath for the cable 36 which extends therethrough.

The spring is positioned in the bore of the body 10B with its outer end engaging a shoulder 52 within the coupling 50.

The spring retaining arrangement 16 further includes a piston 54 slidably mounted in the bore of the body 10B and having a stem 55 on the side facing the coupling 50 to which the lefthand end of the cable 36 is secured; and a rod 56 secured to the opposite side of the piston 54 and extending outwardly through the aperture of the cap 19 with its free end bent downwardly.

The link 17 has one end connected to a projection 32 at the outer end of the rod 56 and has its other end connected to a fixed projection 33 on the body 10B, whereby the link holds the rod 56 in an inward position to compress and load the spring in such condition. When the link 17 is destroyed, the rod 56 is released and the spring 15 drives the piston 54 towards the left to pull the cable 36 and also the element 35 towards the left, whereupon the cam 11 is operated to actuate the pin 12.

When the cam 11 is operated as just described, the handle 14 remains locked in position by the pin 44 as the element 35 slides out of the stem 40. When the cam is operated by using the handle 14, after removal of the pin 44, the retaining arrangement is not disturbed as the stem 40 slides over the element 35 to separate the righthand end of the cam from the inner end of the element.

In order to reset the cam, a lengthwise extending slot 43 is formed in the body 10A (FIG. 2A) into which a tool is inserted to engage the flange and move the cam from left to right as viewed. When this is being done, the tube 39 shields the cable 36 to prevent damage thereto by the tool.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the present invention provides improved control apparatus having novel and useful features.

As various changes maybe made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense.

I claim:

1. Control apparatus comprising a tubular body, a h

cam member slidably mounted in said body, a cam following member extending into said body for operation of said cam member, a handle at the exterior of one end of said body including a stem section slidably mounted in said body and extending outwardly thereof and being operatively arranged for moving said cam member from a first position to a second position, an element slidably mounted in said body separated from said cam member for movement independently of said stern section but engaging said cam member at one end to eflect movement thereof, spring means in operative connection with said element and biased for moving said element to move said cam member from its first position to its second position, and releasable means for retaining said spring means biased.

2. Control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said element includes a head engaging one end of said cam member and a rod extending outwardly of said body at its other end, said spring means is a spring member in said body biased between said head and the last mentioned end of said body, and said stem section is on the other end of said cam member.

3. Control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said releasable means includes an extension on said body adjacent said rod, and a link connected between said rod and said extension to position said rod to retain said spring member biased.

4. Control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said stem section is tubular and is separate from said cam member but engages said cam member at its end facing said handle, said element is slidably disposed in said tubular handle section and engages said cam member at its end engaged by said handle section, said cam member has a bore extending therethrough, and a cable extends through said bore having one end secured to said element and its other end connected to said spring means.

5. Control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said body has an inwardly facing shoulder at the end through which said stem section extends, and said stem section having a flange for engaging said shoulder.

6. Control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said stem section has diametrically opposite openings therein adjacent the end of said body through which it extends, and a locking pin extends through said openings.

7. Control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said spring means include a tubular casing, a rod slidably mounted in said casing having an inner end secured to the last mentioned end of said cable, and a spring member in said casing engaging the inner end of said rod and being under bias.

8. Control apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said rod has an outer end extending outwardly of said casing, and said releasable means includes a link having one end connected to the outer end of said rod and its other end connected to said casing to position said rod to maintain said spring member biased.

9. Control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said body has a lengthwise extending slot for inserting a tool to reset said cam member.

10. Control apparatus according to claim 9, wherein a tube coextensive with said slot is mounted on said cam member and said cable extends through and is shielded by said tube.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,326,138 8/1943 Grant 74-110 2,875,616 3/1959 Marks 74-2 MILTON KAUFMAN, Primary Examiner, 

1. CONTROL APPARATUS COMPRISING A TUBULAR BODY, A CAM MEMBER SLIDABLY MOUNTED IN SAID BODY, A CAM FOLLOWING MEMBER EXTENDING INTO SAID BODY FOR OPERATION OF SAID CAM MEMBER, A HANDLE AT THE EXTERIOR OF ONE END OF SAID BODY INCLUDING A STEM SECTION SLIDABLY MOUNTED IN SAID BODY AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLY THEREOF AND BEING OPERATIVELY ARRANGED FOR MOVING SAID CAM MEMBER FROM A FIRST POSITION TO A SECOND POSITION, AN ELEMENT SLIDABLY MOUNTED IN SAID BODY SEPARATED FROM SAID CAM MEMBER FOR MOVEMENT INDEPENDENTLY OF SAID STEM SECTION BUT ENGAGING SAID CAM MEMBER AT ONE END TO EFFECT MOVEMENT THEREOF, SPRING MEANS IN OPERATIVE CONNECTION WITH SAID ELEMENT AND BIASED FOR MOVING SAID ELEMENT TO MOVE SAID CAM MEMBER FROM ITS FIRST POSITION TO ITS SECOND POSITION, AND RELEASABLE MEANS FOR RETAINING SAID SPRING MEANS BIASED. 